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Tuesday, 22 October 2013

1st unit nuclear reactor of Kudankulam nuclear plant synchronised

The first unit nuclear reactor of Kudankulam nuclear power plant in Tamil Nadu, has been synchronised with southern power grid early today. Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant is the 20th Nuclear Power Station of Nuclear Power Corporation of India connected to Power Grid in our country according to its Site Director R S Sundar. AIR correspondent reports, the power generation in Kudankulam nuclear power plant and its synchronisation with southern power grid is a major mile stone in the annals of nuclear power history in our country. The power generation was increased to 160 Mega watt and generation has been stopped now for checking the generator. Power generation will be started again from tomorrow. The officials are in touch with Southern Region Load Despatch centre at Bangalore and Power grid corporation centre at Abhishekapatti in Tirunelveli. The power generation in the nuclear reactor will be increased in stages to attain full capacity of 1000 MW by year end. With the addition of 1000 Mega watt capacity of Kudankulam Nuclear Power plant, the power generated from nuclear energy will rise to 5780 Mega watt in the country.About Nuclear Power PlantA nuclear power plant is a thermal power station in which the heat source is a nuclear reactor. As is typical in all conventional thermal power stations the heat is used to generate steam which drives a steam turbine connected to a generator which produces electricity. As of 16 January 2013, the IAEA report there are 439 nuclear power reactors in operation operating in 31 countries.

Nuclear power plants are usually considered to be base load stations, since fuel is a small part of the cost of production.

Electricity was generated by a nuclear reactor for the first time ever on December 20, 1951 at the EBR-I experimental station near Arco, Idaho in the United States. On June 27, 1954, the world's first nuclear power plant to generate electricity for a power grid started operations at Obninsk, USSR. The world's first full scale power station, Calder Hall in England opened on October 17, 1956.

The conversion to electrical energy takes place indirectly, as in conventional thermal power plants. The heat is produced by fission in a nuclear reactor (a light water reactor). Directly or indirectly, water vapor (steam) is produced. The pressurized steam is then usually fed to a multi-stage steam turbine. Steam turbines in Western nuclear power plants are among the largest steam turbines ever. After the steam turbine has expanded and partially condensed the steam, the remaining vapor is condensed in a condenser. The condenser is a heat exchanger which is connected to a secondary side such as a river or a cooling tower. The water is then pumped back into the nuclear reactor and the cycle begins again. The water-steam cycle corresponds to the Rankine cycle.

A nuclear reactor is a device to initiate and control a sustained nuclear chain reaction. The most common use of nuclear reactors is for the generation of electric energy and for the propulsion of ships.

The nuclear reactor is the heart of the plant. In its central part, the reactor core's heat is generated by controlled nuclear fission. With this heat, a coolant is heated as it is pumped through the reactor and thereby removes the energy from the reactor. Heat from nuclear fission is used to raise steam, which runs through turbines, which in turn powers either ship's propellers or electrical generators.

Since nuclear fission creates radioactivity, the reactor core is surrounded by a protective shield. This containment absorbs radiation and prevents radioactive material from being released into the environment. In addition, many reactors are equipped with a dome of concrete to protect the reactor against both internal casualties and external impacts.

In nuclear power plants, different types of reactors, nuclear fuels, and cooling circuits and moderators are used.